Tell Me Why (Why I Love You)

DESCRIPTION: "Tell me why the stars do shine; Tell me why the ivy twines; Tell me why the skies are blue; And I will tell you why I love you. Because God made the stars to shine; Because God made the ivy twine... That is the reason why I love you."
AUTHOR: Words: Fred Mower / Music: Roy L. Burtch. (source: Jim Dixon and others in mudcat.org thread "Lyr Req: Tell me why")
EARLIEST DATE: 1902 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: questions nonballad campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 290, "Tell Me Why" (1 text)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 195, 345, 473, "Tell Me Why" (notes only)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsNThings, p. 101, "Tell Me Why" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsPopularEdition, p. 29, "Tell Me Why" (1 text)
BoyScoutSongbook1997, p. 122, "Tell Me Why" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Nancy Finley, Samuel Finley, "Tell me why the stars do shine" (Piotr-Archive #625, recorded 08/01/2023)
SAME TUNE:
Just When I'm Ready to Start My Ears (Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 228)
NOTES [62 words]: The mudcat.org thread "Lyr Req/Add: Tell Me Why" has this science version, which I can't help quoting:
Nuclear fusion makes stars to shine,
Tropisms make the ivy twine,
Raleigh scattering make skies so blue,
Testicular hormones are why I love you.
Arguably, in light of current knowledge, the last line should be "Oxytocin is why I love you." It's gender-neutral, too. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: ACSF195W

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